The G.I. Joe comic book was first published in 1950. It started with issue #10 which was a common practice with Ziff-Davis. When the title became a success the numbering was restarted at issue #1. This means that there are two issues of 10 through to 14. Ziff-Davis carried on publishing the title until June 1957.

Although the stories for the Ziff-Davis G.I. Joe were set during the Korean War, he has his origins further back in time, in a comic strip named 'Private Breger' which was created by the cartoonist David Breger. This humorous strip started its run in 1942 and was syndicated by King Features. Meanwhile David Breger who was drafted into the United States Army was posted to England to work as an artist and photographer for 'Yank, the Army Weekly'. To carry on using his character in the magazine he needed a new name and G.I. Joe was born, the G.I. standing for Government Issue.

G.I. Joe was a huge success and the name began to be used as a term for an American soldier, which still lasts to this day.

After the end of World War II the G.I. Joe character has kept going strong. He has featured in films and also become the highly popular action figure produced by Hasbro.

Click on the comic book beneath to turn pages, or use the controls at the top and bottom. Please wait a moment for the pages to load. Click on the sections on the right to navigate through the site.